Episode 3 - Karoo

Our adventures in episodes three and four take us on a much longer journey than we experienced in the first two. In fact we get to travel through parts of the Ceres, Tankwa and Klein Karoo.

We start off on the Mitchells Pass just outside of Ceres, and make our way towards the Karoo Poort and out into the wide open plains of the Karoo where mammal-like reptiles once ruled millions of years ago. These plains hold the promise of enchantment and mystery, and you will find yourself being called back to them time and again if you linger here for even just a short while.

We spend a day and evening at the fantastic Gatsrivier Holiday Farm, and let us tell you, once you experience the hospitality, the knowledge and the fantastic facilities on offer, you will be forgiven for thinking you are staying at some 5 star game reserve. Just spending a morning talking to Anet and Hennie is special enough on its own.

From there we make our way to Matjiesfontein, South Africa largest collection of Victorian buildings, masquerading as a town. Although we only spent a short time there, it is probably worth another visit just to explore the two museums a little longer, because the history there is simply fascinating.

In Laingsburg, we all had our heart strings pulled. We arrived there to tell the story of the flood, but we quickly learnt that there is a massive difference between researching it on the internet and in books to experiencing it through the stories of flood survivors. We also learn that Laingsburg is so much more than just the site of a tragic disaster.

We then went to the site of a rather unknown Angle Boer War battle, it was surreal to be standing in the actual houses involved while being told about this very one sided battle. From there we rode the splendid Rouxpos Road the then down the magnificent Bosluiskloof Pass to spend an evening and very interesting morning with Fox Ledeboer at the Gamkapoort Dam Cottages.

The next day was probably the highlight of the trip as far as riding goes when we rode through the Seweweekspoort, possibly the most magnificent and spectacular of all the mountain ravines in South Africa, on our way to our overnight stop at the Buffelspoort.

One our way home we explore the Anysberg Nature Reserve, rounding off a fantastic journey of exploration on our motorcycles.

These two episodes also feature plenty of riding advice and we also feature Chris Grinton at the Flying Brick who gives us some advice on luggage selection.

The roads we travel range from very good gravel to some mildly technical paths and climbs. We also camp for two nights on this trip and spend a night in the cottages at the dam. At the two places we camped, cottages are available as well.